Bike for wife - 105, carbon

craigus89

I want to get the Mrs an upgrade now she is doing some more miles, to make it a worthwhile upgrade though I'd want full 105 groupset and a carbon frame, around 8.5kg or lighter.

She has ridden a few men's bikes when we have hired them in the past and apart from the saddle obviously not being very comfy she found the bike itself fairly comfortable, so I'm not too worried if it isn't woman specific as I'd like to have a proper fit done with the purchase. So ideally somewhere she can try them out first. Initially I'm thinking of going to Planet X, as we are in Sheffield soon to see family and they have a fitting service, they still seem like some of the best value around.

I'm hesitant to order anything online for her as I'd want her to try it first ... any other suggestions?

On a side note we are going to the LBS at the weekend to hopefully try some out there, but they are quite expensive and I'm not sure they have quite what we're after, lots of their bikes are listed as having Ultegra, but then have cheap brakes and FSA or similar cranks etc.

mrb123

Can she get a bike on cycle to work?

If not, how about a build? Find a frame she likes and then go from there. Get her involved in choosing all the bits, handbuilt wheels etc. That way you can guarantee she gets a full 105 groupset. Plus you can pick all the components to suit perfectly - a nice, women's specific saddle, some compact bars, fairly short stem etc etc.

arlowood

If you are visiting Planet X then the Pro Carbon would be worth considering. They don't do a 105 version but you could consider the SRAM Rival version at £850

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPRIV ... -road-bike

or for a bit more cash they do an Ultegra version

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT ... -road-bike

Semantik

arlowood wrote:

If you are visiting Planet X then the Pro Carbon would be worth considering. They don't do a 105 version but you could consider the SRAM Rival version at £850

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPRIV ... -road-bike

or for a bit more cash they do an Ultegra version

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPULT ... -road-bike

OP- how are you judging 'best value'?
Bear in mind these frames are nearly 10 years old and the bikes are no cheaper than more modern stuff.

kingrollo

Think Decathlon do a full ultegra carbon for around £1k - great value.

105 calipers are under £25 each and are a doddle to fit - so I wouldn't discount a bike that doesn't have 105 brakes.

Personally I would concentrate on frame & fit rather than spec - IMO a drop down to tiagra would barley be noticeable.

craigus89

Thanks for the responses. I guess I always fall into the trap of looking at the spec over the frame which is the wrong way of looking at things, also didn't realise the Planet X frames were that old.

The main thing I suppose aside from the fit/comfort is something lightweight and that shifts nice and reliably. She currently has and older Claris groupset with a triple ring on the front, which whilst it does work the shifting isn't all that reliable. Plus it is quite a heavy bike.

Any other recommendation? Budget wise could stretch to £1,300 - £1,400 if it were perfect.

The LBS has a couple of these in different sizes which is a bit over budget, and while I'm not after anything with disc brakes it could only be a good thing I guess...

http://bicyclechain.co.uk/product/35377 ... road-2016/

Any other recommendations?

Semantik

Craigus89 wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I guess I always fall into the trap of looking at the spec over the frame which is the wrong way of looking at things, also didn't realise the Planet X frames were that old.

The main thing I suppose aside from the fit/comfort is something lightweight and that shifts nice and reliably. She currently has and older Claris groupset with a triple ring on the front, which whilst it does work the shifting isn't all that reliable. Plus it is quite a heavy bike.

Any other recommendation? Budget wise could stretch to £1,300 - £1,400 if it were perfect.

The LBS has a couple of these in different sizes which is a bit over budget, and while I'm not after anything with disc brakes it could only be a good thing I guess...

http://bicyclechain.co.uk/product/35377 ... road-2016/

Any other recommendations?

That Spesh is a great bike.

Giant Envie Advanced 2 here :
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s134p6 ... CED-2-2016

She would fly on this bike.Women specific frame too. Tramples that Planet X into the ground.

lakesluddite

Craigus89 wrote:

Thanks for the responses. I guess I always fall into the trap of looking at the spec over the frame which is the wrong way of looking at things, also didn't realise the Planet X frames were that old.

The main thing I suppose aside from the fit/comfort is something lightweight and that shifts nice and reliably. She currently has and older Claris groupset with a triple ring on the front, which whilst it does work the shifting isn't all that reliable. Plus it is quite a heavy bike.

Any other recommendation? Budget wise could stretch to £1,300 - £1,400 if it were perfect.

The LBS has a couple of these in different sizes which is a bit over budget, and while I'm not after anything with disc brakes it could only be a good thing I guess...

http://bicyclechain.co.uk/product/35377 ... road-2016/

Any other recommendations?

It's a womens version of the Roubaix, which is the endurance frame from Spesh, which I have and it's really comfortable.

Beware though, I know the disc Roubaix frames are not compatible with other disc specific wheels (the SCS system) - if the Ruby is the same, you'd not be able to upgrade easily unless you chose something made by Specialized, such as Roval.
Check with a Spesh dealer first if you were thinking about perhaps upgrading wheels at a later date. The stock wheels that came with my Roubaix SL4 Elite Disc were VERY heavy, and I had to get a dealer to import QR versions of the better, lighter, wheels from the US, which took over a month.
Actually, looking again, the wheels (Axis 4.0 SCS) that come with this Ruby are the better, lighter ones - mine were the 2.0 and must have been over 2kg for the pair. Same applies though, an upgrade would mean sticking with Roval disc wheels (or using handbuilts with a SCS specific hub - Hope do one but it's quite expensive).

mpatts

may I be first to say:

Fair swap.

lostboysaint

andcp

Cannondale Synapse:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cannondale-Syna ... _83216.htm
https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale- ... e-EV239484
My wife bought the Ultegra model in the sales about 6 weeks ago - we got 25% off too which was a bonus. She is extremely happy and says it rides beautifully (something in her life has to). More of an all day bike than a proper race bike.

meesterbond

mpatts wrote:

may I be first to say:

Fair swap.

laurentian

Mt Mrs has a 2014 version of this and loves it:

http://podium4sport.com/merida-scultura ... Gwod7o4LUg

izza

Our LBS is selling some ex-demo Scott Addict 30's with 105 and easily light enough.